Yes, the girls were practicing their dance routine at Topeka’s Starbucks (I try to never be seen dancing in public… but that’s another story entirely

So what do we have? One guy, passing through town … creating live video, blogging about it, and twittering about it. About two teenagers that use YouTube NOT for entertainment, but to find dance choreography ideas.

Example #2: Technology Planning in Topeka

A local newspaper columnist asked Topeka techies (using a wiki, no less) this question: “How do we make Topeka a better community by using technology? That is the question I address to you. Join me in a public discussion and offer your suggestions and let’s collaborate to make Topeka a better place.”

Yes, people in your community are already connecting and engaging with others via social media tools. Are you?

Go read Michael’s post for the nitty-gritty details (and this post for the lyrics and credits). Here are some song details…

This was a really fun song to write and record. I honestly wasn’t sure Michael’s idea would work when he first suggested it to me, but then I’m game for just about anything, so thought “let’s try it and see what happens!” And Michael’s a great friend and writing partner (we write the Public Libraries Magazine column “Internet Spotlight” together), so if everything else went down the tubes, I knew we would at least have a fun time of it. But as we started writing the lyrics, rhythms and melody lines started bouncing around in my head… and I realized this would be easy to pull off.

Other details:

The music is a mix of GarageBand instruments, my own guitar playing, and three samples of theremins and other whistle-like sounds.

Here’s another post on new ways to think about technology and tools (see my last post for the first one).

Here’s a photo of a Smart Car. Do you think you could drive it? Yes? Cool. How about if something broke – could you fix it… or would you need to hire a mechanic? I know I couldn’t fix it – I’m pretty much at the mercy of the auto mechanic when it comes to doing practically anything under the hood of a car.

And you know what? that’s ok. I don’t have to understand the technology to use the technology.

It’s the same way with computers and the emerging social web, too. For example, in order to blog… you don’t have to know how to build a blog. You really only need some very basic typing skills. In fact, in some of my recent presentations, I’ll ask people if they they can type a Microsoft Word document and hit save – and of course, they all say “yes, I can do that.” Then I tell them they just admitted that they have the skills needed to blog. Then it gets really quiet…

Using most of this new-fangled social software is much like driving a car – you don’t have to understand the techie stuff in order to use it. You need other skillsets (like driving).

As usual, I’m a bit busy this fall doing the speaking thing… and I’m really excited about it! I’m trying out a couple of new presentations and doing some first-time “fly over large bodies of water” trips – should be a blast.

Here’s where I’ll be:September 16: Library Camp 2008 @ Allen County Public Library
I love the Library Camp concept – a bit looser, a bit messier… and a whole lot more interaction and learning. And Allen County’s a great library – it’ll be fun to talk with them! Here’s what I’m talking about there:

Managing the Digital Branch

Mashing Up Our Community

September 23-30: David goes to Spain! All three presentations focus on emerging trends: